Coil spent the next period of its existence exploring visual media. In late 1984 they recorded a rendition of Tainted Love (originally recorded by Gloria Jones, but made popular by Soft Cell in the 80s), producing a widely banned, hallucinogenic video clip featuring Marc Almond as the Angel of Death; despite considerable controversy at home, the video ultimately found its way to the archives of the Museum of Modern Art. After spending several years working with filmmaker Derek Jarman on the feature The Angelic Conversation, Coil issued a remixed edition of their soundtrack. Following 1986’s Nightmare Culture, a collaboration with Boyd Rice produced as split release with Current 93, Christopherson and Balance invited Stephen Thrower to join the group in a full-time capacity. As a trio, they recorded 1986’s LP Horse Rotorvator, introducing orchestral, jazz, and middle Eastern textures into the mix; this album included The Anal Staircase.
In 1987, Coil issued The Unreleased Themes for Hellraiser, a collection of atmospheric gothic instrumentals commissioned for but ultimately cut from the Clive Barker horror film, followed by compilation album Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders), a remixed history of the group’s first several years of work. Unnatural History, another career overview, effectively ended the first phase of the band’s career in 1990; when Coil resurfaced a year later with Love’s Secret Domain, their music reflected the strong influence of the acid house culture. Another long layoff brought on by financial difficulties ended in 1995, when the group - now consisting of Sleazy, Balance, and Drew McDowell - signed to Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor’s Nothing Records to release Backwards, an album which was never officially released, although it is available in a number of bootleg versions. Additionally, they recorded the LP Worship the Glitch, issued under the name ELpH, and in 1996 cut A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room as Black Light District.
1998 marked a significant stylistic shift for Coil, as the group moved away from the industrial dance sound they pioneered in the first half of their career towards what Balance referred to as "Moon Musick". This began with the release of four seasonal EPs throughout that year, coinciding with the equinoxes and solstices; this marked the group making further forays into ambient and neoclassical styles. Lyrically, there was a push towards naturalistic, pagan imagery, and an emphasis on free form, improvisatory chants. All four of these releases were later collected and released as Moons Milk (in Four Phases) in 2002. Coil also put out a purely drone based project, Time Machines, under that alias the same year.
In 1999 Coil started to work with Thighpaulsandra, and with him released the chilling Musick to Play in the Dark, a dark, meditative work featuring mostly intoned vocals from Balance, and exploring deeper electronic textures and pitches. A second volume followed in 2000. After years of refusal to do so, Coil started to perform live again in 1999. They released a number of albums containing the various shows they did in the period 2000 - 2004. Coil have released a lot of material in very limited editions, and have distributed certain records only at concerts. In 2003 they started a project to re-issue these tracks. Amidst their sporadic touring, and growing internal tensions within the group, Black Antlers was released in 2004, consisting of many of the songs played in concert at the time. This would prove to be the last studio recording put out in Balance's lifetime.
Jhonn Balance’s long-time struggle with alcoholism led to his death on 13th November, 2004. He fell from the second floor window at his home, while drunk, and died a short time after. Coil’s last live performance took place at Dublin’s City Hall on 23 October 2004 and is expected to appear on the forthcoming DVD box set “Colour Sound Oblivion”. A number of songs that were (as good as) ready were released in autumn 2005 as a last farewell to Jhonn.
Peter Christopherson passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 25, 2010. Instead of sending flowers in memory of Peter Christopherson, people were asked to donate money to help children affected by AIDS in Thailand, the country he loved and died in.
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Tenderness of Wolves
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Was all in vain? Or did you cry?
No need to ask, my tears have run dry
This is the end of my pity
I await to die
You now the living, me now the dead
To prove that you loved me
Mere words could not have said
Taking all you could
Oh, I'd still give you blood
Just to paint your lips
If you should wish them red
My desires your kiss completed
But only now I can see
The vicious joy when you took delight
Behind each kiss your poison bite
And when my all was given
And you had taken
Oh dog-like Judas
You did disappear
Was all in vain? Or did you cry?
No need to ask
You now the living, me now the dead
The lyrics of Coil's song "Tenderness of Wolves" by Gavin Friday are laden with painfully raw emotions depicting a relationship that has ended disastrously. The singer of the song is reflecting on the past and questioning the sincerity of his lover's love. He wonders if his tears and emotions were all in vain, and if his lover shed any tears at all. He admits that he has run out of pity and is ready to die, while his lover remains alive. The dichotomy of the living and the dead symbolizes that the singer has given his all in this toxic relationship and is now dead to the love that once was.
The song's lyrics describe the violent and possessive nature of the relationship; biting, taking, bleeding, and poisoning are all metaphors of abuse. Still, the singer is willing to give anything to his lover, even his blood. He admits that his desire is to kiss his lover, but he can see the "vicious joy" in his lover's eyes when he took delight behind each kiss's poison bite. In the end, the dog-like Judas who betrayed the singer disappears, leaving him to wonder if anything in their relationship was genuine.
The song's haunting melody and poetic lyrics, combined with the intense emotions woven into them, make "Tenderness of Wolves" a powerful song about love, betrayal, and death.
Line by Line Meaning
Was all in vain? Or did you cry?
Did any of it matter? Did you even care enough to cry?
No need to ask, my tears have run dry
You don't need to ask if I cried for you, because I have no more tears to shed.
This is the end of my pity
I have no more compassion left for you.
I await to die
I'm just waiting for death at this point.
You now the living, me now the dead
You are still alive, while I feel dead inside.
To prove that you loved me
You didn't have to say anything to show me that you loved me.
Mere words could not have said
Words would not have been enough to express your love for me.
Biting into skin, into flesh, into me
You took everything from me, even my very being.
Taking all you could
You took everything that I had to offer.
Oh, I'd still give you blood
Even after all you took from me, I'd still give you more.
Just to paint your lips
I would do almost anything to please you.
If you should wish them red
Whatever you want, I would do it without hesitation.
My desires your kiss completed
All I ever wanted was your love and affection.
But only now I can see
Now that everything is said and done, I can see things for what they really were.
The vicious joy when you took delight
You enjoyed hurting me, and that gave you a sick pleasure.
Behind each kiss your poison bite
Every kiss you gave me was laced with venom, slowly killing me inside.
And when my all was given
I gave you everything I had to offer.
And you had taken
And you took it all without remorse or regret.
Oh dog-like Judas
You betrayed me like Judas betrayed Jesus in the Bible.
You did disappear
And you left me alone to suffer the consequences of your actions.
Was all in vain? Or did you cry?
Did any of this mean anything to you? Did you feel any remorse at all?
No need to ask
I already know the answer.
You now the living, me now the dead
You still have life, while I am left to suffer the scars of your betrayal.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gur Kazir
(lyrics by Gavin Friday) Was all in vain? Or did you cry? No need to ask, my tears have run dry This is the end of my pity I await to die You now the living, me now the dead To prove that you loved me Mere words could not have said Bitting into skin, into flesh, into me Taking all you could Oh, I'd still give you blood Just to paint your lips If you should wish them red My desires your kiss completed But only now I can see
Gur Kazir
The vicious joy when you took delight Behind each kiss your poison bite And when my all was given And you had taken Oh dog-like Judas You did disappear Was all in vain? Or did you cry? No need to ask You now the living, me now the dead
Salvatore Bognanni
Does it ever happen to you to quietly chant 'You now the living, me now the dead' ? It does to me sometimes.
Adam Czarnecki
me too. for years...
chulan chaki
to anyone interested, this song is about fritz haarmann, the so called wolf of hannover, who murdered two dozen young boys
Lord Panik
No it's not. It's about the selfishness of those you think love you. How there is little real tenderness in people. The song is also directed to Genesis P-Orridge, who became a vicious when they left Psychic TV.
MNML ϟTELLΔR
perfect !
Fabio Levik
Master piece
Edward Pandemonium
Two people are now the dead.
JANXDPDX
AIDS